Toronto Real Estate and Neighbourhoods Blog | Move Smartly

Christie Pits

Jesse Fleming in Toronto Neighbourhoods.

 

Christie Pits is a neighbourhood bordered by Bloor Street West, Ossington Avenue, Christie Street and the railroad tracks that lie just north of Dupont Street.  A seemingly typical older Toronto neighbourhood, I had accepted that it was dubbed ‘Christie’ after its eastern border with which it shared its name; where the ‘Pits’ came from was anyone’s guess.  Only after delving into the past did I discover that Christie Pits is far from a typical Toronto neighbourhood (check out Realosophy's Neighbourhood Profile for school and housing stats).

Christie Pits Park, once known as the Christie Sand Pits, was a excavation site until the early 1900s.  The sunken area, officially named Willowvale Park but affectionately known as Christie Pits, was annexed to the City of Toronto and opened as a public recreation site in 1908, increasing in size throughout the 1920s.  Mirroring the growing anti-Semitic sentiments in Europe, Christie Pits was the site of a massive post-baseball game riot in 1933 between Nazi sympathizers and immigrants of Jewish and Italian descent.  In August of 2008 a Heritage Toronto plaque was installed to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the riot that has been woven into Toronto legend.

Toronto's Target 70: Why November 1st was Important

Jesse Fleming in Urban Issues.  

Beginning November 1, 2008 Toronto’s new water/solid waste Utility Bill will be coming to a residential mailbox near you.  As the final stage of 2008’s garbage collection re-vamping, this annual solid waste fee ranges according to the garbage bin size selected by each household - small bins fetch a $10 rebate while the extra-large bins cost $190.  This is slated to cover the costs of garbage, compost, recycling collection, landfill management and other pro-environment endeavors.  Previously, solid waste fees were rolled into property taxes and still will be as, according to the City of Toronto, they cannot be easily separated from one another – so enter the annual rebate.

The annual rebate (cited on the city’s website as $209 per house and $157 for multi-unit buildings) will be found on the new utility bill in the form of a credit, divided among each bill received over the course of the year.  However, if you chose the smallest garbage bin you will be receiving an additional $10 rebate for a total of $219 which, spread out over the year, will be credited towards your water bill.  The seemingly arbitrary numbers chosen by the city for the rebate are based on the average amount collected for solid waste collection from property tax bills. Sound confusing? 

It seems in their lofty ambitions of 70% waste reduction by 2010, the garbage and recycling higher-ups are not going out of their way to ease the transition for Torontonians.  In the case of multi-unit buildings the $157 per unit rebate will be reflected on utility bills charged to property management and condominium corporations.

Further adding to the sanitary headache is the introduction of pink tags.  If you had ordered but as of November 1 have not received a bin (or simply have yet to order bins) you should have been sent these city issued garbage tags in the mail.  These tags are good until January 31, 2009 and force you to put out your bin-allotted amount of garbage as you will receive as many tags as bags of garbage your bin will hold.  Everyone should have their bins by the end of January as well as five free yellow overflow bag tags; additional yellow bag tags cost $15.50 for five.

This is the first winter that Torontoians have had to use their collection of collection bins.  If last winter proved anything, I am curious as to how well the bins manoeuvre over snow and ice.  As the holidays creep up on us, many households may find that their bins are the wrong size for their needs. Up-sizing garbage bins will run you $20 while down-sizing is free; changing recycling and green bins is $10 until January '09.

Jesse Fleming is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Email Jesse

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Photo Credit: http://valdodge.com

The City Wants Your Old, Used and Broken.

Jesse Fleming in Urban Issues.

Furthering Toronto’s green initiative does not end at the array of garbage collection bins that have been distributed to residents throughout the city.   Toronto's Water Efficiency Plan addresses one of the resources that many of us (myself included) take for granted.  I am becoming more aware that clean water is a commodity not to be taken so lightly because there is a possibility that one day it might not be as accessible.  This is one fact that I cannot seem to wrap my head around an ashamedly I still leave the water running while brushing my teeth - the clean-freak in me detests the toothpaste foam that gathers around the drain. 

High Park

Jesse Fleming in Toronto Neighbourhoods.

When a particular neighbourhood has a quality that sets it apart from the pack, the entirety of that characteristic generally echoes throughout its boundaries.  From Runnymede Road to Roncesvalles Avenue the windy streets that make up the bulk of High Park’s residential space are bounded by railroad tracks that lie just north of Dundas Street West and The Queensway to the south.  As I wandered throughout the area I wondered can the entirety of a vast neighbourhood, such as High Park, be influenced by its proximity to Toronto’s largest park of the same name? (check out Realosophy’s Neighbourhood Profile for local housing and school stats)

Wallace Emerson

Jesse Fleming in Toronto Neighbourhoods

When approaching the neighbourhood of Wallace Emerson it is hard for one to ignore the neon lights of Club Paradise illuminating a Buddhist temple that sits across the street.  Slowing my walk to a creep to ensure 100% memory absorption, I realized that this antithetical matching does indeed lie within the boundary of the particular neighbourhood I was seeking out.  Wallace Emerson immediately struck me as a neighbourhood of opposites and I was eager to explore the rest of the area to see if the residential portions lived up to what I had found on Bloor Street West (check out Realosophy's Wallace Emerson Neighbourhood Profile for local housing and school stats).

What some have called ‘run down’ and ‘shabby’, others consider ‘old-city charming’ and ‘Toronto’s living history’.  Older retail establishments with apartments above live the eastern portion of Bloor St. West.  Proceeding into the neighbourhood along busy Lansdowne Avenue, the element of opposites rises again with the combination of industry and residential.  Both are aged but remain functional and give Wallace Emerson the ‘old-city charm’ characteristic as opposed to the ‘shabby’ one.

The Urban Jungle: Community Gardens Grow on Toronto

Jesse Fleming in Urban Issues

One of the drawbacks I initially had towards living in a condominium was the lack of a garden to call my own.  Although my green thumb has yet join the party, I do enjoy the planting and maintaining that goes along with summer gardening.  Most buildings are not conducive to intensive crop establishment and that is where community gardens fill the missing piece of the puzzle.  Community gardens throughout Toronto provide residents of all gardening calibre to grow, harvest and eat the vegetables of their labours.

Community gardens and allotment gardens differ in Toronto.  Municipal allotment gardens are assigned to participants who pay a yearly/seasonal fee and work and harvest their own slice of land – there are currently 12 in Toronto.  Community gardens are group endeavours; however, the land can be further divided into sub-plots.  The harvest is communal and shared amongst everyone – though this is not written in stone and can vary from each of Toronto’s approximate 100 community gardens. 

Wanless Park

Jesse Fleming in Toronto Neighbourhoods.

Bounded by Lawrence Avenue East, Snowden Avenue and Mount Pleasant Road, the neighbourhood of Wanless Park relies on the lay of the land to form its eastern border (check out Realosophy’s Neighbourhood profile for local housing and school stats).  A leafy ravine lies just outside this particular neighbourhood and contributes to what I have dubbed ‘controlled overgrowth’ of the ravine properties - gardens appear to be planned and maintained but do not seem to be meticulously pruned allowing for a whimsy communal garden appearance. 

Wanless Park, located in the lower central portion of the neighbourhood, is situated amongst streets that in one way or another lead to it, past it and circle it.  With its five tennis courts, wading pool and many other amenities Wanless Park is a high traffic outdoor space.  Throughout this portion of the area there are no sidewalks, a characteristic that seems to oppose this family-oriented community.

Hoggs Hollow

Jesse Fleming in Toronto Neighbourhoods

Hoggs Hollow has always been one of those neighbourhoods that I had heard of but never quite knew where it was or what to expect when I got there (check out Realosophy's Hoggs Hollow Neighbourhood Profile for local housing and school stats).  Conjuring up visions of a semi-visited slice of Toronto enshrouded in mist, I really was going into this neighbourhood blindly.  Originally settled by a Loyalist family in 1794 and then by namesake James Hogg in 1824 the majority of the neighbourhood sits hidden amongst the hills of Toronto’s Highland Creek Ravine just south east of the Yonge Street-York Mills Road intersection. 

Venturing into Hoggs Hollow is a sensory experience.  Cracked asphalt roads that spot the neighbourhood are not bound by sidewalks; car tires create a gravely-crunch while they slowly drive by pedestrians walking on the roadside.  Century-old trees and wild flowers flood the roadsides and deceptively hide the few driveways and homes that have been built high above the street.  Traditional fences are all but forgotten, instead residents make use of more natural means to divide properties such as hedges and shrubbery.

Regal Heights

Jesse Fleming in Toronto Neighbourhoods

The neighbourhood of Regal Heights is situated just east of Corso Italia.  Due to this close proximity, I had assumed that the housing styles and general neighbourhood appearance would be somewhat homogenous throughout the two much like siblings of a common Toronto parent.  It was only after I spent time in Regal Heights that I was reminded that, like fraternal twins,  neighbourhoods can differ greatly from one to the next, even if they do sit right next to one another (check out Realosophy’s Regal Heights Neighbourhood Profile for local housing and school stats).

Bounded by St. Clair Avenue West, Regal Heights cannot help but absorb some of the Italian flavour that spills over from its neighbour to the west.  Davenport Road, Dufferin Street and Oakwood Avenue act as Regal Height’s remaining three borders and are mostly residential throughout this particular neighbourhood with smaller retail stores peppered throughout.

‘Whimsical’ was the first word that came to mind as I toured this area.  Brick finishes that would be at home on a medieval castle and almost comically large, arched doorways are just two of the characteristics that make homes in this neighbourhood unique.  Originally built from 1912 to 1923, semi and fully detached homes can be found within Regal Heights however the semi-detached contingent are more frequently found closer and on the outer streets; some homes have been remodeled and transformed into multi-unit dwellings.  The very active Regal Heights Residents' Association has been consistently encouraging community involvement in a variety of yearly activities and meetings for the past thirty-four years all the while reiterating to its residence that their neighbourhood is a unique community within Toronto and Canada. 

The Davenport Escarpment is the reason for the unavoidable steep hills that lie along the road of the same name.  Gradually, as you work your way south through Regal Heights, homes become further and further set back from the road and the stair climb to their front doors becomes longer and longer.  Shady tree lined streets make this particular neighbourhood seem like a deliciously cool location for summer bike rides and jogging.  Use with caution - I can attest that the hilly terrain can be deceiving and is not for the faint of heart.

Jesse Fleming is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Email Jesse

Nearby Neighbourhoods:

Corso Italia

Davenport

Hillcrest

Earlscourt

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Toronto's 'Target 70': Multi-unit Buildings, It's Your Turn

Jesse Fleming in Urban Issues

As of July 1, 2008, residents of multi-unit buildings will be charged a fee for garbage collection.  In a previous post, I had explained the roll-out of Toronto’s green/grey/blue bin programs which, at the time, excluded condominiums, apartment buildings and certain town house developments - anywhere that communal garbage collection takes place.  Fellow building residents, our time is nigh.

According to the City of Toronto website, “building owners will be required to pay a fee for garbage collection based on how much garbage is set out by building residents.” The charge will be for the entire building and billed to the building owner, replacing the current $157 per unit fee that is included on property taxes.  A pro-rated refund will be issued for the amount that is equal to the average amount collected through taxes in the form of a credit on your new combined Water/Solid Waste utility bill.  Fees are subject to change according to the yearly budget.